This invention relates to stackable crates for refuse. More particularly, this invention relates to a stackable crate and a stackable crate system for receiving different types of refuse for recycling purposes.
Refuse collection and removal have become a significant problem in many communities such that various solutions have been sought to reduce the amount of refuse that requires removal, for example, to a garbage dump, land fill site and/or incineration plant. In some cases, municipal regulations require a home owner or business establishment to separate refuse into different types, for example, to separate glass bottles, aluminum cans, plastic containers, newspapers and the like from each other not only for recycling purposes but also to reduce the amount of residual refuse which requires removal to a garbage dump, land fill or incineration plant.
Because of the requirement to separate refuse into different types, home owners and business establishments have usually resorted to setting aside separate containers for each type of refuse. For example, one container may be set aside for aluminum cans, a second container for plastic materials, a third container for newspapers and paper and a fourth container for any remaining refuse. When the containers are placed side by side, however, a rather large space is required and this is not generally convenient to home owners and businesses. When such containers are stacked, insertion of refuse into the lower crates is difficult.
Prior art refuse containers have attempted to strike a balance between the demands of space and accessibility. For example, Pender, U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,894 discloses a container assembly formed of four semi-cylinders with an upper pair of containers stacked on a lower pair of containers. The upper containers have recessed walls which mate to provide chutes to the lower containers for the segregation of different types of refuse. Also, Howells, U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,252 discloses a set of sorting-stacking bins having tapered containers, each having upstanding, inclined walls and an integral horizontal bottom. These prior art containers are deficient in that when stacked, it is difficult to insert large plastic bottles or newspapers through the container opening into the appropriate container. Moreover, newspaper and other paper materials fail to lie flat in these prior art containers because the containers do not have a box-shaped frame. Thus, such newspapers are difficult to bundle quickly.
Square and rectangular plastic injection molded crates have long been used for storage and transporting milk cartons. Illustrations of milk carton crates are seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,840,115 and 4,819,822.
A rectangular prior art crate exists wherein the front wall of the crate has a rectangularly shaped opening at the top portion. There is, however, no opening at the bottom portion of the front wall of this prior art crate. A disadvantage of this prior art crate is that when several of these crates are stacked vertically, it may be difficult to insert refuse, especially large bottles, through the front wall opening of crates below the uppermost crate. If the opening is enlarged, however, to accommodate large pieces of refuse, refuse may slip out through the front wall opening during transport of the crates to the disposal area. Further, large openings are inimical to the structural integrity of molded plastic crates.